'The Jackie Smook Program of De-Dumbification' only seems like self-help silliness until it lands its punches
In a world that cries out for the de-yassification of the Green M&M, the concept of de-dumbification seems almost too sweet, overly naive, even, in a time that feels aggressive and hard. The Jackie Smook Program of De-Dumbification, playing at Davenports Piano Bar & Cabaret every month through June, cuts through the late winter cold with a musical reminder to dig deep, push through, and emerge as your authentic self despite ever-present self-doubt.
Jackie Smook, accompanied by her brilliant pianist Joe Chimes and a couple puppets, takes the stage in a bright coral-turtle-neck and floral-patterned skirt. Immediately, she presents as pure light, and her blunt brown bob and bright green eyes draw us in with playful intensity and perfect, yet approachable symmetry.
While the show’s framework is given to us at the top—"four [life] stages told in twelve musical acts," Smook and her grouchy puppet friend Frederick explain – it’s hard to know what to expect until she starts to sing. The aforementioned playful intensity becomes more intense than playful as she channels that energy into a powerful operatic sound. Davenport’s calls itself “Chicago’s premier location for enjoying music in an intimate setting,” but something about Smook’s voice makes the room feel expansive and vast. It shakes you; people yell “Brava!”
After an onstage quick change in which Smook remains poised and unbothered, we are thrust into Stage 1: her first day at Denver School of the Arts. We see the beginning of a pattern where Smook brings us into musical theater shows and songs of her past as a means of telling her story: a successful audition for Hairspray, “Alone in the Universe" from Seussical, “Practically Perfect” from Mary Poppins. It’s a comforting time capsule, really, especially for an engaged audience returning to musical theater after much time away.
Smook and Chimes create a self-help vernacular of their very own that is tonally unique and multidimensional. Self-improvement has certainly become the new self-care, but self-help feels more earnest; the word "help" alludes to some sort of personal strife that must be overcome. While Smook uses phrases like “dingy-dongy dumb dumb” to describe someone who isn’t living purposefully, she'll also ask things like, “Have you ever failed something without even trying?” It feels like whiplash, comedic and spiritual.
Eventually, we reach Stage 4: "The Reckoning." While Smook makes it known we’ve reached the end of our show, it’s clear she has no intention of slowing down. We’re swept away by a finale number packed with practical advice (“Buy a whiteboard and identify how everything you do is toward your dream”) and psychological provocation (“...shaken from your delusion to remember who you are...”) Bounding piano licks, big note to finish and The Jackie Smook Program of De-Dumbification comes to a close. You leave the theater and you want to live just a little more honestly, the way theater is intended to make you feel.
The Jackie Smook Program of De-Dumbification will play at Davenport's on Saturday, February 5th at 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 5th at 10:30 p.m.; Saturday, April 2nd at 8 p.m.; Saturday, May 7th at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, June 4th at 8 p.m. Every performance includes a two-drink minimum. For tickets or more information, please visitDavenportsPianoBar.com.
Photos, in order, are by Marie Renault and Jenny Baumgartner.